The Help - a film based on the 2009 novel by Mississippi native Kathryn Stockett - finally came to UK screens at the end of last month. I was able to see the film last night after months of waiting and I am so grateful I did.
The film truly moves you and stays with you long after the credits have finished, thanks to not only the heartbreaking story created by Kathryn Stockett, but the sincere acting from the well assembled cast. Most notably, American actress Viola Davis who portrays the character Aibileen, the first household maid 'Skeeter', a young white female budding journalist, talks to when she decides to write a journal from the perspective of 'the help'.
Davis displays the heavy heartache and pain she has experienced over the years while working as she builds bonds with the white children she raises and then is forced to break these bonds as she moves onto another job, all the while losing precious time to raise her own son, so effectively with the subtlest gesture of just a slow longing glance or bow of the head. This woman is a seriously great actress and no doubt deserves an Oscar next year for truly bringing Stockett's literary protagonist to life with such emotional depth.
The film is at first, driven by Skeeter's story (portrayed by young American actress Emma Stone), a white woman wanting to get ahead in times of repression, not only for African-Americans, but for women in general. Her character represents the headstrong, independent 'radical' woman of the early 60s who refused to be confined to the social regulations of becoming a housewife. She finds herself a job writing and is encouraged to find out about the world, letting others know what she discovers - she is brave in deciding to find out the truth about the real world including those suffering in it the most - black people.
Now some may complain that as is the situation in books, Hollywood are using white actresses to portray a story that is supposed to be told from the perspective of black people. However although this is a serious subject in terms of movie-making where black actress are still not being put forward for roles other than those concerned with race, I believe for this story it is appropriate and realistic in the sense that, although they were working on it with the forces of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, black people had no social power during the 50s and 60s and so in order to improve their situation they needed to have help from not only other people of the same cultural group but those in power - white people.
Emma Stone is a great talent who displays a strong likeability in Skeeter's character which is important in allowing the audience to connect with her and understand what she is trying to achieve through her writing. She wants to know the thoughts and feelings of those who she and so many other white women of her time were raised by. Who shaped her into the person she had become?
The film starts out as Skeeter's story but only briefly as the reality of the housemaids becomes the main focus as it should be. Octavia Spencer, who plays Aibileen's confrontational friend Minny, also deserves an Oscar nomination for portraying the strength and bravery in her sassiness towards the rude families that hire her and in trying to save herself and her kids from her abusive husband. Her struggle to repress her vulnerability at times was perfectly executed.
A mention is also deserved to the supporting cast, ditzy blonde Celia Foote played by Jessica Chastain is a warm character outcasted by the rest of her neighbourhood as they believe her a cuckqean, and so forms a close friendship with Minny who works for her. Bryce Dallas Howard is also scarily convincing as the evil Hilly Holbrook, who is intent on making the lives of her housemaids hell.
This film has brought in wide audiences as although it contains the serious issues and experiences suffered by African-American housemaids, it also includes some lighter, funny moments showing that as hard as life can be there are times that pull you through. This is a story that needs to be told and it is done excellently through this film adaptation. When I went to the cinema I was glad to see that there were all types of ages and cultures of people watching the film and so hopefully people will understand the experiences of black women during these times slightly better.
I can't wait to read the book!
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